NY: Why Gay Marriage Failed in the New York Senate

Despite the spin, most everyone pushing for a bill legalizing same-sex marriage privately acknowledges that the 24-38 loss in the State Senate was a whopper, and while theories abound, there's no clear explaination for how the bill was so soundly defeated. Senator Eric Schneiderman started by blaming Republicans. "If you look at the Assembly, there were lots of Republican yeses," the liberal Manhattan Democrat said. "I don't believe it. They clearly decided not to allow a vote of conscience. I know that there were Republicans that wanted to vote yes." That's hardly fair, considering eight Democrats voted against the measure. Democrats—under the leadership of Malcolm Smith—took the chamber's majority in 2008 after promising advocates that they would pass the marriage bill, and that they would pick candidates who would vote in favor. That did not happen; Joe Addabbo, a senator from southeast Queens, was elected over Serphin Maltese. Full Story from the NY Observer: http://www.observer.com/2009/politics/thousand-fathers-marriage-inequality

Click here for gay marriage resources in New York.

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